Apple loses another top executive as Dowling announces his departure

According to several reports, Steve Dowling, the man who has until now headed Apple’s communications division, has decided to leave the company.

Dowling is the third member of Apple’s top management team to leave this year.

In February, the firm’s head of retail Angela Ahrendts also left.

Four months after that, Apple’s iconic head of design Jony Ive also decided to resign.

Recode managed to obtain an internal memo that Dowling distributed to staff.

This indicated that Phil Schiller, the company’s head of marketing, will manage the PR team as an interim measure.

In a statement, Apple said: “Steve Dowling has been dedicated to Apple for more than 16 years and has contributed to the company at every level through many of its most significant moments.”

The statement added that Dowling was involved in promoting Apple across the globe since the start of the App Store and the launch of AirPods, Apple Watches and iPhones.

After the latest successful product launch, he took the decision to spend more time with his family.

Apple’s statement concluded: “He leaves behind a tremendous legacy that will serve the company well into the future.

“We’re grateful to him for all that he’s given to Apple and wish him the best.”

Dowling, who worked as a CNBC journalist before joining Apple, resigned at a time when the company is the subject of intense antitrust scrutiny.

A week ago, the House Judiciary Committee asked it for documents related to how it promotes and sells its own apps in the App Store.

To be fair, Google, Facebook and Amazon were also requested to hand over internal communications and other documents as part of the same probe.

Last week, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger also resigned from Apple’s board of directors, apparently because both firms plan to introduce video streaming services in November.